Secretary’s Corner    

Kenningwell United – Spreading the Word

Hi and welcome to a new feature in the programme called Secretary’s Corner. In each edition I will attempt to share with you any interesting news that I manage to discover that relates to Kenningwell United, be it news of one of our players making an international appearance, or information on a new rule being introduced into football.

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters of today’s opponents as well as the match officials and any neutrals watching the game. We have had quite a few people coming to watch us this season and this is the basis of my first article.......

A few months ago, bored, sitting at my computer, I typed the word Kenningwell into Google. There were literally hundreds of results. Most were pretty much as I expected, simply re-directing me to our website or to the results pages of the Orpington and Bromley League website. A few of our previous opponents’ websites came up too, which was helpful as I did not know about some of them. But one result that took my eye was a website called www.nonleaguematters.co.uk. I clicked on the link and was taken to a forum based website. The topic (or thread, as its known) was named Best Non Pyramid League in London? The purpose of the thread was to find out from non-league football enthusiasts which Sunday Football League was the best one. Our own Orpington and Bromley League was mentioned as well as Kenningwell United. One contributor had noted that Kenningwell had a fairly good record in the London Sunday Cups. I soon joined the site and said a few words about our club and shared my thoughts.

After an hour or two of browsing the website, I was opened up to a whole new world of the football supporter. These guys didn’t just join the masses and support Man Utd from the armchair. They wanted to support a team where they could actually go and watch the team week in, week out. They could meet the players in the bar afterwards and buy them a drink (or demand to know why they had played badly!), they could even discuss tactics with the manager over a pint or two. These were real football fans, the real die-hards. I soon found out that these peculiar gentlemen are known as ground hoppers. They do exactly what it says on the can – they go to different grounds around the country, buy a programme and watch the match. Some grounds they may never visit again, but at least they can say that they have been there.

Realising that with our fine history, coupled with the magnificent match day programme that Devon produces for each game, I had to invite some ground hoppers down to watch a match. I had soon advertised a couple of matches on various football websites and a few weeks later around 6 hardy souls turned up on a miserable morning to buy our programmes and watch us play. Since then I have had several people email or write to me to get hold of a copy of the programme. Word had soon got around that there was a new face in town, as far as the wonderful world of programme collecting goes.

A week or two after our first ground hoppers arrived, I had an email from someone saying that he wanted to feature our programme in The Football Traveller Magazine, a weekly publication that provides information on non-league football. I ordered a few copies of the magazine. A month later, there it was; the front cover of our Kenningwell United programme in a national magazine.

Even more exciting news was to come a few weeks later. I had another email enquiring about our matches and the programme. It was from someone called Tony Incenzo. Tony Incenzo, I thought, I know this name. Back onto Google and I was soon reading an article about this man, a reporter for Talksport Radio and Sky Sports! Tony is possibly the most enthusiastic ground hopper you could ever meet. As of January 2006, he had visited 1,589 different football grounds, and he has three bedrooms full of match day programmes!

After being put off by the weather for a few weeks Mr Incenzo came down to Honour Oak Park to watch our first team play Centaurs. A typical football enthusiast, he asked if he could have the names of both teams’ players and also my signature for his book, where he collects all of the information about the games he goes to. After a brief chat, I introduced him to our manager, Cecil Dennie, and Tony was kind enough to pose for a photo (see front cover of programme). Tony stayed and watched the full match, commenting to Cecil that he was very impressed. The day after the match, I received an email from Tony thanking the club for the excellent hospitality and programme and he also said he enjoyed the match.

In a short space of time the Kenningwell name has been spread across the non-league world. We have had fantastic praise for the match day programme, with a great deal of credit attributed to its creator, Devon Hamilton. However we can not stand still; there are already a few changes in the pipeline for the programme, and we hope to be able to invite the ground hoppers down again next season. Everyone can contribute, so please contact Devon or myself with any ideas.

 Pete Midgley, Club Secretary of Kenningwell United FC